Toast-Us City? 'Beer Destination' Savannah adding 62-tap pour house

This image from World of Beer's corporate website shows a portion of the tap setup at one location. According to a company spokeswoman, most World of Beer locations have 50-plus taps. The one in Savannah will have 62.

Jason Kendall/Savannah Morning News
This sign reading "Coming Soon. 500 beers. 62 Taps" is displayed in the window at 112 W. Broughton St., World of Beer's new Savannah location, which is working toward a May grand opening.

This image from World of Beer's corporate website shows the bar portion of a franchise in action. Customers can come in and sit down for a fresh draft. In Savannah's historic district, that also will translate to to-go cups and, possibly, 64-ounce growlers similar to the ones Parker's Urban Gourmet installed in mid-March.

When Parker’s recently put in eight craft beer taps downtown — for 64-ounce to-go “growlers” — it got the Hostess City talking. So what is Savannah going to say when World of Beer opens next month?

According to a sign in their window at 112 W. Broughton St., where construction crews are hustling to meet a May deadline, the Florida-based franchise is about to seriously up the ante.

“Coming soon. 500 beers. 62 taps,” it reads.

World of Beer locations are hybrid beer warehouses and watering holes, selling hard-to-find brews in bottles as well as fresh suds at the bar. In downtown Savannah, that also will mean to-go cups.

And growlers?

Possibly, said Beth Tierney, the company’s national director of marketing.

“We do do growlers at locations in states where they are legal,” Tierney explained, though she couldn't guarantee that trend will hold true here. The Savannah franchisee was not available for comment.

World of Beer co-founder Scott Zepp recently outlined the company’s mission on the eve of its fifth anniversary.

“We would like to become the neighborhood bar in communities across the country,” Zepp said.

Ben Volen, general manager of The Distillery, 416 W. Liberty St., doesn’t see that as a problem for local drinking establishments. He’s excited that Savannah’s star is getting bigger on the craft beer map.

“I think it’s important,” Volen said. “If there’s going to be a ton of draft beer bars — people want to hit them all. They want to park their car and do the whole thing.”

The historic district’s famed open-container law, he said, meshes perfectly with that desire.

“It’s pretty fun to shock a tourist by telling them they can walk out with a beer.”

Volen expressed support for the growler program that’s produced excitement and controversy since its mid-March debut at Parker’s Market Urban Gourmet on Drayton Street.

“I love that Parker’s made that step,” Volen said, noting The Distillery would like to sell growlers, too, but it’s currently against Georgia law for bars and restaurants to do so. “That’s just going to open it up for everybody.”

Brandon Hofman, beer maestro of Parker’s, said growler sales have been solid — about 33 per day, or 16.5 gallons — since the pilot program began.

“The response has been great and welcoming,” Hofman said, “and everyone’s very excited.”

As for World of Beer entering the downtown scene? The more the merrier, he said.

“I think it’s great — they’re bringing craft beer awareness into Savannah and making us a destination for this type of beer.”

BeerAdvocate, a beer-rating website and magazine that has evaluated more than 70,000 varieties, recently took notice. Savannah is their “Beer Destination” for April.

That label increasingly fits a region that now claims three local craft breweries — Moon River Brewing Co., Coastal Empire Beer Co. and newcomer Southbound Brewing Co. — and an annual craft brew festival that drew 3,500 visitors in 2011.

“We started the Craft Brew Fest five years ago,” said Melissa Yao, Visit Savannah’s vice president of communications. “It kind of came from nothing, a conversation we had with volunteers.”

This fall they expect to eclipse 4,000 attendees, Yao said, with top breweries from across the nation pouring their wares. She supports local growler programs and the World of Beer addition.

“From a tourism standpoint,” Yao noted, “adding something like that to our landscape here in the historic district is awesome.”

Added Hofman: “It’s good to know people come to Savannah to drink beer.”

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for
following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and
comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are
automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some
comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules,
click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.